25 April 2006

25th April 2006

12:00 AM — Sentencing has been delayed for the openly gay winner of Survivor's first season, who was found guilty in January of failing to pay taxes on his $1 million winnings and other income.Richard Hatch, 45, who graced the cover of The Advocate and became something of a gay icon following his first season win, was expected to be sentenced this month. Sentencing has now been delayed until May 16, according to the Dallas Voice.

12:00 AM — Sir Elton John has warned George Michael that his pride will kill him if he does not get help.He reacted to claims from the former Wham lead singer on the Parkinson show that he was the cause of his problems.The gay star was appearing on US talk show, Ellen, he said: "They always know that I will be there to help them.

12:00 AM — A campaign by the Democratic Unionist Party in Northern Ireland to clear the name of the late anti gay preacher, Harry Hammond, has been backed by gay groups.Mr Hammond was arrested and fined for public order offences in 2002 after holding signs up in Bournemouth which said "Stop Immorality, Stop Homosexuality, Stop Lesbianism," he then died in 2003.

12:00 AM — A New York man has been sentenced to 25 years in prison after a homophobic attack which left his victim in a coma and now needing a cane to walk.Steven Pomie, 23, was found guilty of first degree assault on Dwan Prince, 28, who was beaten so badly that his whole left side is paralysed and he cannot remember the attack.

12:00 AM — Tweakers, a film about the crystal-meth epidemic and the lives it destroys, has gained official support by the West Hollywood City Council, after a motion introduced by Councilmember John Duran was unanimously approved."Projects like 'Tweakers' are very important because they deliver a warning message to those who are thinking about using this drug and to those who are already addicted to it in a way that is direct yet not confrontational," said Mr Duran, who himself is in recovery.

12:00 AM — Surrey Police has commissioned the support and training charity EACH (Educational Action Challenging Homophobia) to conduct a comprehensive investigation into why residents of Surrey, particularly women, rarely report homophobic incidents to them.EACH will seek the views of Surrey residents and service users, leading to a report that will highlight the relevant issues, make recommendations to assist Surrey Police's understanding of homophobia and contribute to subsequent police practice.

12:00 AM — A pensioner has been given a restraining order stopping him going within 100 metres of a gay couple.Dennis Scanes, 66, had waged a seven month homophobic hate campaign against Kevin Whitburn and Andrew Brown as well as Mr Whitburn's mother.

12:00 AM — Comedy actor Tim Healy is set to go from bricklaying in Newcastle to walking the cobbles of Coronation Street.The Auf Wiedersehen Pet star will play gay character, Sean Tully's long lost father in the prime time soap.According to the Sun, they will meet at a funeral, an insider told the paper, "Sean's forced into making contact with his dad and it opens a whole can of worms. Brian doesn't even know Sean is gay."

12:00 AM — A parents' group in Massachusetts is planning to sue a local school for using a book that portrays gay marriage.The Parents Rights Coalition believe the law is being abused and claim their children are being indoctrinated.A statement from the group described the experience of Robin Wirthlin, a mother who complained to the Joseph Estabrook Elementary School after her 7 year old son was provided with the book in class.

12:00 AM — The Vatican has banned a service for gay Catholics at a church in Bavaria due to its close proximity to a gay pride festival being held in the area.Josef Heigl, vicar general for the diocese of Augsburg told the Reuters news agency that the Vatican had stopped the service, which has been taking place during the Christopher Street Day gay festival since 1999, to allay fears that it might give the impression that the Catholic Church endorsed gay rights.

12:00 AM — Sir Elton John's vampire musical will hit the stage tonight.Lestat, a story based on Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire, is to open on Broadway this evening written by the gay superstar.Sir Elton, who also wrote hit show, Billy Elliot, has collaborated with Bernie Taupin for this performance at the Palace Theatre in New York following a stint in San Francisco.

12:00 AM — Rare documents chronicling the rise and fall of Oscar Wilde together with a poem by Wilde's gay lover, Lord Alfred Douglas are among the literary treasures donated to the University of Leeds yesterday by a wealthy New York based couple.The newly acquired treasures include Wilde's lectures notes from his 1882 tour of America, marking his rise to fame in addition to a rare copy of the Oxford University journal The Chameleon that played a part in his fall from grace.

12:00 AM — PinkNews.co.uk's Adam Smith expresses relief that he didn't tell his mum to watch last night's BBC3 Trouble With... Gay Men documentary.PinkNews.co.uk ExclusiveSimon Fanshawe's documentary looking at the problems with gay men promised a look at the upsides and drawbacks to being a gay man in the UK in 2006. I was looking forward to seeing a balanced view of gay life in contemporary Britain. Maybe the title should have warned me, but what I saw was a hand-wringing despair of gay life in London, focusing on the actions of a minority of gay men, albeit a large minority.

12:00 AM — Four people were attacked last weekend in a suspected homophobic assault in Brazil where an increasing spate of incidents are being perpetrated by gangs of skinheads.A man was stabbed several times and three others were targeted on a street where several gay bars are located in Rua da Consolacao, Sao Paulo, according to police.

12:00 AM — A Nigerian human rights activist is standing up for the country's gay community in the face of his government's negative laws on gay rights.With the blessing of the Nigerian Anglican Church and its leader, Archbishop Peter Akinola, the government of Nigeria has tabled in parliament one of the world's most comprehensive and "oppressive piece of anti-gay legislation."

PinkNews covers religion, politics, entertainment, finance, and community news for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community in the UK and worldwide. Founded to produce broadsheet quality journalism for the LGBT community, we cover politics to theology in an intelligent manner.